Eversource cable project could detour Fort Point Street traffic

NORWALK — Fort Point Street could be closed briefly near the Metro-North Railroad Bridge to accommodate Eversource Energy’s relocation of two high-voltage electric cables.

“We’re going to minimize the disruption to the best of our ability, including perhaps limited closing hours, or small windows, or designing a detour in the area,” said Eversource Senior Project Manager Marcia Wellman.

On Tuesday evening, Eversource Energy held an open house in the Community Room of Norwalk City Hall to update the public on its plan to relocate two 115-kilovolt electric cables from atop the Walk Bridge to underground and beneath the Norwalk River.

The cables would go underground at the Norwalk Police Department headquarters parking lot at 1 Monroe St., run below Elizabeth Street, go under the harbor between 70 and 90 Water St., and run under part of Veterans Memorial Park and Fort Point Street.

Wellman described the proposed work near the Fort Point Street Bridge, where the cables would resurface and follow the railroad right-of-way, as the trickiest part of the project given the limited space. The utility company plans to replace an existing tower and build two new towers, as well as concrete “transition” structures to move the cables above ground.

“There’s virtually no room there,” said Wellman, pointing at a display board. “There’s a 5-foot strip of land up against the elevated railroad tracks so our construction activity here is really going to be coordinated.”

Wellman said the city has asked Eversource to review traffic patterns and possibly create a detour. She pointed at one potential detour over side streets and South Smith Street.

“Is it possible it (Fort Point Street) will be closed for two days, open for four, closed for two?” asked Rick Tavella, an East Norwalk Business Association board member. “Will it be on and off, or will it be once it’s closed, it’s closed?”

Said Wellman: “It’s certainly not going to be for a long duration. … our goal is to not have to close it. Our goal is to always, in one way or the other, allow traffic into South Norwalk.”

She described the Fort Point Street bridge as critical for traffic getting in and out of South Norwalk.

Judith Dominguez, East Norwalk Business Association membership secretary, had concerns about effects on the large office building where she works at 25 Van Zant St. The property abuts the railroad tracks. Its western entrance lies within feet of the Fort Point Street Bridge.

“I have to know exactly their timeline,” Dominguez said. “I want to know if I’m going to be able to go into my parking (lot) or not, or about the easements as well. Eversource says that they’re going to be done first, before the bridge renovation, and that they’re going to be closing some Fort Point areas.”

Wellman said Eversource plans to complete its work near the Fort Point Bridge before the state replaces the bridge. The state Department of Transportation plans to rebuild the bridge to the west, aligning it with South Smith Street, as part of the larger Walk Bridge replacement project.

At the open house, one resident inquired about work on Elizabeth Street on the west side of the river.

“We expect to be (working) on Elizabeth for a little while, just knowing that there are some utilities there,” Piacente said. But “it will not be closed. We’re actually working closely with the city to make sure that one lane stays open the whole time during the construction.”

Eversource plans to submit its cable relocation plan to the Connecticut Siting Council by the end of 2018, and secure council, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection approvals in order to start work in the second quarter of 2019.

Work would begin either side of the Norwalk River, with horizontal cross-drilling roughly 30 feet below the riverbed occurring during the winter in the first quarter of 2020. If all goes according to plan, the new cables would be energized in June 2020, according to Eversource.

The Norwalk Harbor Commission remains opposed to the plan, which would run the cables about 8 feet below the pilings of the newly rebuilt Norwalk Visitor’s Docks at Veterans Memorial Park.

“We do not want it to go under the docks,” said Harbor Commissioner Anthony Mobilia, who attended the open house. “That will inhibit any future use or repair or change of anything for the docks.”

According to Wellman, Eversource considered seven relocation routes and arrived at its proposed route after considering electrical reliability, constructability, project costs, and community and environmental impacts.